Natural Disaster Survival Kit
Dear Parents,
It is the Fraser Health’s requirement that each child must have a survival kit at the daycare.
We must collect the kits upon registration, there will be no acception to this rule.
The kit must include minimum of:
1) 9 protein bars
2) 3 bottles of water (500ml. each)
3) Thermal blanket
4) Out of town contact
5) Most recent photograph of your child
Optional items are:
1) Flashlight
2) Family photo
3) Letter from the parents
4) Soft toy

Dear parent or guardian:
Next week, your child will be learning about earthquakes. Your child will learnabout the possibility of earthquakes in British Columbia and what they can do to be
better prepared in a quake.While many British Columbians assume that earthquakes are a coastal and lower
mainland threat, the reality is that an earthquake can be experienced anywhere in theprovince. BC is one of Canada.s most seismically active earthquake zones. In recentyears earthquakes have been felt not only on Vancouver Island and in greaterVancouver areas, but in areas such as Nelson, Penticton, Dawson Creek, and Fort St.
John.
The class will be working through some scenarios that will help them visualize:. the sights, sounds, and physical feeling of an earthquake. emotions an earthquake can trigger. the duration of an earthquake (as well as the way that time may stretch during aperiod of upheaval, intense fear, excitement). the sources of danger in an earthquake (e.g., items above their heads, breakingwindows, etc.). the safest place to be in an earthquake (e.g., underneath a sturdy piece of furniture,against an inside wall, etc.).. By providing emergency preparedness information to students at several levels of their education, we are encouraging students to make emergency preparedness part of their lifestyle.Discussions about earthquakes can be very frightening for children. We encourage
you to talk to your child about what they are learning in class.We will be encouraging students to talk to their families about what they can do athome to prepare for an earthquake.If you have any concerns about these topics, please contact your child’s teacher for further information.

Emergency Preparedness Tips
What to do before a disaster
❑Arrange an out-of-area phone contact for family
members to check in with, and plan an alternative
family meeting spot if you cant get home.
❑Identify several meeting spots for your family close
to where you live, work or play in case you are
not all together in an emergency.
❑Practice safety drills in your home so everyone
knows how to evacuate safely.
❑Identify an alternate person in the neighborhood
to pick up your children from school in case you
cant get there in an emergency situation  tell
the school and your children who it is.
Prepare your home
Make your home safer by installing latches on
cupboards and securing water tanks, top-heavy
furniture, appliances or computers and other items
against movement. Dont forget to duplicate or store
important documents and essential business records
in fireproof/waterproof containers.
Prepare an emergency supply kit
Be prepared to be on your own without help for 72
hours or more. Assemble an emergency kit with a
minimum three-day supply of food and water. Store
it in a secure place that, ideally, is accessible from
outside. Your emergency kit should include:
❑water and water purification tablets (four liters
per person per day)
❑food (non-perishable)
❑cooking utensils, including a hand-operated can
opener
❑first-aid supplies
❑extra essential medications and glasses, copies of
prescriptions and infant supplies
❑personal toiletry items (soap, toothpaste, toilet
tissue, etc.)
❑money, including coins
❑battery-operated radio
❑flashlight (intrinsically safe/sparkless)
❑extra batteries
❑candles and matches
❑identification
❑shelter  a plastic tarp/small tent, blankets/
sleeping bags or some large orange garbage bags
Protect yourself
During an earthquake, if you are in a building, stay
inside and away from windows. Duck, cover, and
hold. Duck under a heavy desk or table, cover your
head and torso, and hold on to the furniture. If you
cant get under something strong, go to an interior wall
and sit with your bottom and feet flat on the floor and
protect your head.
If you are outside, go to an open area. Stay away from
buildings or any structures that could collapse, as well
as power lines and dangling electric wires. If you are in
a car, stop somewhere clear of overpasses, bridges
and power lines. Stay inside your vehicle.
What to do after a disaster
There may be injuries to treat, leaking gas and water
to shut off, small fires to put out, debris to clear and
other hazards to check for. Be ready with a well stocked
first-aid kit and first-aid training, a wrench,
fire extinguisher, work gloves and heavy-duty shoes.
A battery-operated radio will link you to instructions
from local government and provincial emergency
workers and news in your community.
Hang up any telephone receivers that are off the
hook, and use the phone or cell phone only if a life is
at stake. Emergency crews will need all available
lines.
For more information on emergency preparedness and to
play an interactive preparedness game, go to the Provincial
Emergency Program (PEP) Web site www.pep.bc.ca
and the toll-free PEP messaging line: 1-888-811-6233.

In our Montessori children are seen and respected as whole person. Children are free to decide which work they want to choose. We help the children to think independently. Every child develops at his own pace, and works at his own work rate. Since the work is chosen at the child’s free will the child will have fun and learn at the same time. The children discipline themselves to fulfill a certain task with eagerness and pride until the next stage of development is reached.
Children are born with approx. 100 billion brain cells. 25% are used for body function, such as heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing etc. 75% of these brain cells or neurons are waiting to be stimulated, to build new pathways through our environment. Each experience like tasting different foods, listening to a story, learning a new language, doing yoga, dancing stimulates these brain cells. These stimuli are transmitted through our senses to the brain. Each brain can form up to 15,000 new connections. A three year old can therefore have up to 1,000 trillion neural connections. No wonder a three year old child can easily learn a new language with all it’s complexity in the shortest amount of time.
In our school we challenge our children permanently with new experiences and stimuli. Children will therefore build many neural pathways. At age ten the brain naturally starts to delete those natural pathways that are redundant or not used. The more a child is challenged between 2 ½ years to 6 years of age the more neural pathways will become permanent in the architecture of the brain. The ability to acquire and retain new information will increase tremendously.
A child needs to be stimulated with specific tasks at a certain time in their childhood. These times are known as sensitive periods or “windows of opportunity”. A sensitive period is the time when a child has a very strong desire to acquire a certain skill. These periods are transient and will never return. After these periods are over it becomes hard to learn particular information. Language training for example is most efficient from 2 ½ to 6 years. Exposing a child to a new language past age 7 is literally fighting biology. All children are going through these sensitive periods. From birth to age 5.5 there are numerous sensitive periods. From 6 month until 3 years, language develops.
Age 3 ½ until 4 ½ writing can be acquired. Age 4 ½ until 5 ½ reading can be learned. Age 4 until 6 mathematics science and geography are of the child’s interests. We at our Montessori daycare provide all the materials in our prepared environment that child needs to be challenged in all his sensitive periods. At a sensitive period a child learns without any effort like never again in his/her life. The child’s intellect needs to be stimulated during the early years so a permanent intellectual potential can be reached. In a Montessori center we know that the early years are most important in a person’s life.
Our three year Montessori program lays a solid foundation for life.

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup water
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1/3 cup salt
1 TBS vegetable oil
food coloring
**The above will make you a large ball of playdough. I usually make it repeatedly for however many colors I want (so if you want 6 big balls, know that you will need 6 times the ingredients listed above, but you need to make them separately).
Instructions
1. Mix together all the ingredients, except the food coloring, in a medium saucepan.
2. Cook over low/medium heat, stirring. Once it begins to thicken, add the food coloring.
3. Continue stirring until the mixture is much thicker and begins to gather around the spoon.
4. Once the dough is not wet, remove and put onto wax paper or a plate to cool.
5. After cooling (30 minutes) knead playdough for a few seconds.
PLAY!